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Shenmue 3 takes Kickstarter record from Torment: Tides of Numenera

We knew Shenmue 3 went gangbusters on Kickstarter, but not quite how gangbusters.

shenmue_3

Shenmue 3 opened its doors on Kickstarter during Sony's E3 2015 conference, instantly bringing the crowdfunding site to a shuddering halt with the weight of global gamer attention.

It smashed through its $2 million goal in about nine hours and Yu Suzuki's team has scrambled to add new stretch goals now that the project has passed $3 million with a whole month to go.

This performance isn't just impressive, it's literally record-breaking. IGN reports Shenmue 3 has snatched the Guinness World Record for fastest video game to raise $1 million in contributions on a crowdfunding platform. The title was previously held by Planescape: Torment spiritual successor Torment: Tides of Numenera.

As it happens, Shenmue 3 is now the second fastest project to achieve the $1 million milestone ever. The record holder is the Pebble smartwatch, which managed the feat in 46 minutes in the heady days of Kickstarter's youth.

If Shenmue 3 continues on like this it could hit Star Citizen levels of funding - although we don't really expect it to, and it probably doesn't need it. The crowdfunding is not to fund development but to prove the project is worth external funding - a very common tactic, as very few games cost the few million their campaigns ask for. Sony has confirmed it is contributing to Shenmue 3.

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Shenmue 3

PS4, PC

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Brenna Hillier avatar

Brenna Hillier

Contributor

Based in Australia and having come from a lengthy career in the Aussie games media, Brenna worked as VG247's remote Deputy Editor for several years, covering news and events from the other side of the planet to the rest of the team. After leaving VG247, Brenna retired from games media and crossed over to development, working as a writer on several video games.

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